When the new legislative session begins in January, the performance of the state’s utility companies will once again be discussed, said Rep. Diana Urban Thursday.
Urban, who lives in North Stonington, is frustrated with Connecticut Light & Power. Most of her neighbors are too, she said.
As of early Thursday afternoon, 72 percent of CL&P’s customers in North Stonington were without power. Urban also represents Stonington, and 81 percent of that town’s CL&P customers were also without power.
It seems like CL&P added more bureaucratic layers, which slows down the cleanup and restoration process and hurts communication between all parties involved, Urban said. Urban also said the power company needs to better utilize its crews.
“It needs to focus more on the needs of the community,” she said.
After 2011′s tropical storm and October snowstorm, state lawmakers did pass a sweeping measure that was supposed to help the state better prepare for future storms. It included a provision that allows lawmakers to reevaluate the issue, Urban said, explaining that she plans to do just that.
Urban said she likes to analyze data and hopes to look at data on Hurricane Sandy to determine where things went wrong. She also is considering proposing legislation that would allow more local residents to be trained and certified to help the power companies in emergency situations.